The team

Liv Engholm

Guide, entrepreneur and manager

Liv is an active and social person who loves to be out in the wilderness. She grew up with dog sledding and horse riding in a Sami village, Karasjok in Finnmark in the far North of Norway. Liv is an officer in the Norwegian army and she has good training in first aid and the art of leading groups in different situations and under various conditions. She has studied a wide range of subjects in University College, from entrepreneurship and education to predator biology and nature- and culture knowledge. She is one of the entrepreneurs of Turgleder and has experience from canoeing, packrafting, hiking and trekking, skiing and expeditions. Liv has a sense for the details in nature and loves to stop to take beautiful photos.

“Growing up in a family where dog sledding on the Finnmark plateau was, and still is, the livelihood, made mastering natures challenges and see its richness come naturally. The freedom it gives to be out enjoying nature’s sounds and colours and cooperating with nature is a gift. I very much enjoy the different seasons and the variations and opportunities they give. It is my greatest pleasure to make people able to experience the Norwegian and arctic nature and culture.”

Thomas S. Nilsen

Guide and entrepreneur

Thomas was on his first fishing trip before his one year birthday and he was 6 years old when he was on his first hunting trip. Thomas has always been fascinated by the outdoors and his whole life he have lived close to or in the forest and mountains. That was his playground, that was where he retreated to when he wanted to relax or be alone and there he spent much of his time with his friends throughout his years of growth. Later Thomas, as an officer in the Norwegian armed forces through more then 10 years, have gained substantial and varied experience in areas like planning, leading smaller or bigger groups and the handling of unexpected situations. He also has high competence and real life experience in survival in nature and advanced first aid. Over the last few years he has also obtained relevant formal competence by studying environment, culture and tourism related subjects in University College. Thomas is one of the entrepreneurs in Turgleder.

“I just love being outdoors. The fresh air, the pure water, the absence of noise and the freedom to live in the moment makes being out in nature the most meaningful thing I can do. When you are exposed to the environment over time and you only live in the moment, the big things in the modern society become small and the small things becomes big. Being on a trip and sharing all the big and small adventures with other people is to me the biggest of riches."

Kasper Jæger

Guide

Kasper is a big-city boy, born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark, but he has always known that life for him would not be in the city. His inner compass has always pointed north! After completing his first education, as an industrial plumber, he went to Greenland for a summer job as a guide. Here among mountains, glaciers and icebergs, he found his true calling, working in the arctic nature, with people and animals. Since then, Kasper has worked all over Greenland and lived with Inuits. Returning to Scandinavia, he worked several years with dog sledding in northern Norway, in Karasjok at Engholm Husky especially. The last years he has spent in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, where he has completed the Arctic Nature Guide program at the University of Svalbard.Kasper is an easy going, practical and knowledgeable person. He has a deep love for nature and the arctic.

“Choosing to go north was the easiest choice in my life and I have never looked back. The arctic found its way into my heart and soul, with its vast and beautiful nature, its wildlife and the fantastic people who was born in this cold part of the planet. Some people (parents!) say that I’m a bit crazy for loving these cold and far away places, but the arctic has a strange way of making me feel more alive than the city. Especially in winter, it forces me to remember that even in our modern life, with iPads and electric cars, there are still places on the planet where we have to work with nature and not against it to make a living! I always hope that by bringing new people into the countryside, i can find new friends with whom I can share this feeling and my love for the arctic with.”